


Stitch In Time

by SatanicVenus



Series: FFXI Collection [5]
Category: Final Fantasy XI
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-23
Updated: 2010-11-23
Packaged: 2017-10-13 08:34:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/135268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SatanicVenus/pseuds/SatanicVenus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cheyenne has return from the realm of shadows, now she and Valron must face an old foe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Return

**Author's Note:**

> This is Book # 5 in my FFXI collections.

Valron had been steadily trekking deeper and deeper in the hostile areas outside Al Zahbi. The Dark Knight had only been able to brood in solitude so long before he had hung up his scythe and called upon his wyvern. And now the ever loyal Lunaire flew behind him as enemy after enemy became victim to this duo.  
For 6 long lonely months Val had locked himself away from the vast world of Vana'diel. His lonely heart dragging him into an abyss that he had thought no longer existed in his soul. Then, in shredding the midnight shrouds of Dark Knight and dawning each new day as Dragoon, he had managed to keep his inner demons as bay. But after a year passed. he feared she'd be lost forever.  
Cheyenne had passed into the void without his guidance and strength. She was a formidable woman and he knew she could make it without him, but he had still wanted to stay by her side. Yet this was one adventure they could not be joined on.  
The nagging feeling buried in Val's gut was growing more intense as days passed into weeks. Hope was running out. He surrendered himself to battle to occupy his mind, but it never worked. He missed her too much. His heart cried for her. His arms ached to hold her. He missed her face, her smell, the feel of her skin. He would have given anything to have had traded places with her.  
He should have been the one to die that day during the siege. He should have been the one suffering for sins unmentionable...

Valron sighed as his spear continued to pierce the colibri. Would his mind never stop roaming? Would the "what if"s and "should have"s ever run out?  
"Hey! Fuker! Hello!?!"  
Val's mind took a moment to register the shouting, a familiar voice seeping into his thoughts. In the distance, behind the colibri, he could see the face of his old friend coming closer and with a quick jump, the bird fell to the ground.  
"Slacker, what's going on?" He asked of the elvaan as he retrieved a treat from his satchel to feed to Lunaire.  
"Do you not even wear your pearl anymore? We've been trying to get ahold of you for days..."  
Val raised his eyebrow, and waited for Slackage to volunteer the information he knew was coming.  
With an arrogant roll of his eyes, he conceded, "Your woman is back..."  
Valron's eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face as he quickly equipped his warp cudgel to return home.

Val made it to San d'Oria in record time, bursting through the doors of the chateau and quickly down into the dark corridors of the oubliette. But before he could reach Novalmauge's chambers he was halted by several Royal Knights.  
"Let me pass, you idiots!" He shouted, already preparing to draw his weapon.  
The guards stood solid, one man speaking up, "We've orders no one is to pass."  
His polearm was drawn and ready when a booming male voice came from the darkness beyond, "Let him through!"  
The knights bowed acceptance and parted as he disengaged. He could see Trion in the distance, waving him forward.  
"Nice welcome..." Valron stated sarcastically, the prince patting him on the shoulder.  
"Sorry, man. But we can never be too safe." The tall, elegant elvaan led him down the hall. "Noval is tending to her now, it doesn't look good."

Valron was afraid to know, but he just had to see her for himself. He needed to know she was really here, flesh and blood...Then he would deal with everything else. He set his determination and steeled his spirit as he slowly opened the door to the room Cheyenne had grown up in.


	2. The Reunion

The heat and humidity of the air slammed into Valron like a raging tremor ram. The room was overflowing with candles as the fireplace burned high.   
But once his eyes adjusted to the stinging of smoke, what he viewed in the center of the room worried him the most.  
There, surrounding the bed, were four elvaan knights holding down the thrashing body of the woman he loved.  
Novalmauge saw Val enter and quickly pushed him towards the head of the bed. "I need you to hold her head still."  
He was half afraid to touch her, but knew when Noval wanted something done there was a damned good reason for it. Valron's large hands reach to cradle Cheyenne's head, he could feel how her skin burned like the flames of Ifrit and clammy with sweat, her hair sticking to her face. Her eyes were rolled back in her head and her mouth open in a silent scream.   
Every muscle in Chey's body was tight, her body arching over and over, fighting desperately to free itself of the many hands holding her down.   
"What is wrong with her?" Val asked of Noval, who had his back to the commotion.   
"She is eaten up with the fever, her newly reclaimed soul is rebelling." The educated elvaan was always straight to the point. He turned and held in his hands a large needle, "Keep her head as still as possible." Noval didn't seem the least bit phased as he started to insert the needle deeper and deeper into the fine flesh of the girl he raised.   
Within seconds of pulling back, her body went limp. The knights withdrew from the room, leaving only Valron and Novalmauge.  
"What did you do to her?" Valron's hands wipe the hair from Cheyenne's face.  
"Only sedated her with a simple sleeping potion. We have to let her soul make its choice." The older man circled the bed, checking the restraints on her limbs.  
Valron blinked repeatedly, he hadn't noticed the leather bonds around her slim wrists and ankles. Actually, he realized he barely had noticed anything else. Not the vials of medicines and blood sitting on the nightstand, not the ritualistic herbs hanging over the bed, or that Chey was wearing nothing but a sheet.  
Noval saw the hume's face growing paler as his eyes wandered and took in everything in the room. He felt a need to comfort this man, the man his child had fallen in love with.   
"It will be all right. We all know she's a fighter, she'll come back to you." He put his arm across Val's shoulder and steered him out of the room. "She just needs to rest, and so do you after your long trip."  
Valron didn't know what to think or what to do, but he trusted in the wisdom of this man, so he conceded into being lead away to another room.

 

He listened, waiting patiently for them to leave then silently he slipped into her room through a secret panel. He knew these dungeons, oh he knew them entirely too well, for he once woke up in the very same bed that his target now occupied.  
He sat down next to her, his hand gliding up to her face, his fingers softly caressing her heated skin. He thought back to the day he met her, he remembered the explosion and how she tended him...He remembered the oath those sweet lips had whispered to him. _“I’ll be back, I promise.”_ Her icy blue eyes, the eyes of an assassin, had for him held compassion. Yet, she hadn't returned to him after that day. He had woken up to the lectures of that 'holier than thou' bastard. And the next time she graced his presence, she was with that filthy hume.   
He leaned in close to her, his lips brushed lightly over her cheek as he whispered, "But you fought, didn't you, my sweet angel...To come back to me, because you are mine."  
His strong hand slide behind her neck, arching her up to meet him. "A life for a life," He breathed the words into her mouth a moment before his lips claimed hers. The kiss was full of possessive passion and bruising pressure.   
Cheyenne came alive with that kiss. As she felt him pull back, she breathed in deeply and whispered, "Valron."  
"You wretched bitch!" His hand flew hard and true across her cheek.   
Chey's eyes opened wide only to be met by the burning intensity of dark, menacing green eyes...Eyes that she had nightmares about, that she last saw as she'd laid dying in Al Zahbi.   
His hands encircled her neck, stealing her breath. She tried to struggle only to find herself bound to the bed. "Please..." Was all she could manage to say.  
"Please what, sweet princess? Do you beg mercy and forgiveness?" He leaned forward once again, his tongue slithering over her pouting lips.  
She invited his attention, her only thought was to get him to loosen his grip. And he did, giving her the chance to pull back and let out the loudest scream she could manage from her aching lungs.   
He drew his hand back to slap her again when the door smashed open and a knight tackled him to the hard stone floor.   
Cheyenne could hear the two men fighting on the floor, but she could not move to see anything. Then suddenly there was silence, she prayed to the goddess that the knight would stand, but it was in vain.  
The brooding elvaan stood at the foot of her bed and licked the knight's blood off his dagger. "You are really going to regret that, princess." The words dripped like venom from his lips, causing a cold shiver to run through her body.  
He pointed his blade towards her as he approached, murder shining in his eyes, "If I can't have you, no one will..."

Novalmauge stepped into the doorway just in time to see the malicious intent flash across the elvaan's face. "Mavanos!" His voice vibrated against the walls, causing the younger elvaan to pause and look his way.  
"Still getting in my way, huh old man." The dagger found its sheath once more.  
"Always, Mavanos...Always." Noval was about to step into the room when Valron came running in, weapon drawn.  
Val slammed into what seemed like an invisible wall, unable to reach the elvaan or Cheyenne. He slammed his fists against the air in frustration. "Get away from her you bastard!"  
An evil laugh filled the air, "I will for now...but you..." Mavanos raised his finger to Valron, "your _time_ is limited."  
With that he disappeared into the dark chasm he had conjured.


	3. The Realization

"What the hell?!?!" Were the first words to escape Cheyenne's mouth. She began struggling in earnest to free herself from her bindings.   
Valron picked himself off the floor, where he had fallen after the invisible barrier had disappeared, and made his way to her. He picked a knife off the table and began cutting at the coarse leather.   
Upon her release, Cheyenne sat up and wrapped the blanket around her naked body. Then she looked up at the man she considered her father, who still stood calmly in the doorway.  
"The Viscount...All these years it's been him, and you didn't feel the need to tell me. What would you have done if I had died in Al Zahbi?"   
"Now, now, little red. We had no proof it was him, we only had suspicions. Besides he was under close watch..." Noval paused thoughtfully for a moment, his head lowered to the ground, "At least until you left."  
"And you didn't feel the need when I returned?" Her voice rose even louder.  
"You've only been back for a short time, besides we were concentrating on keeping you alive. You were having quite the fit, but all of the sudden you look no worse for the wear." The elvaan spied her with a wary eye, "What did he do to you?"  
Chey cleared her throat and avoided letting her gaze wander towards Valron, she didn't want him to see the guilt color her cheeks as she remembered the feeling of Mavanos' demanding lips on hers. "How in the name of the goddess would I know?!"  
Valron moved to stand in front of her, cradling her chin in his palm as he lifted her face towards his. He didn't look wary, he didn't seem angry...He just looked worried. But in her head, her mind was racing a mile a minute. She couldn't think straight, she couldn't take the time to comfort him...She just needed a moment to herself.   
Cheyenne jerked her head away and stormed out the chamber doorway, slamming the door behind her.

Damnit! She didn't know what she was doing. It had barely even registered in her mind that she was home. She should have been safe now. She should have been able to wrap herself in the arms of the man she loved and just relax for once. She had missed him, and yet she hadn't even got a chance to say hello. She hadn't been able to ask him how he was, or how their daughter was doing. She wasn't even one hundred percent on how long she had been gone. It had seemed like an eternity on the other side of the veil.   
The realm of souls had been unforgiving. She had fought the demons of her past, she had fought to find herself, and struggled harder still just to find her way home. The time had changed her. She had been at the brink of death and only his love had seen her through. And now...Now, oh what was she to do.   
Honestly she couldn't even understand what she had done to the Viscount. What wrong had she committed against him in his twisted mind? Once upon a time, she had saved his life. She had found him in the middle of a wreckage of his own making, and pulled him out. She had never seen him again, at least she hadn't thought so. Yet today as she looked into his eyes, she had recognized with fear in her heart, that he was the man who had killed her.  
She knew when she first saw him that he was not a man to be idle with, _a force to be reckoned with_ had been her exact thoughts.   
She was just shit out of luck...How could she deal with an enemy she knew nothing about? Hell, the most she knew about the Viscount as a man was that he was powerful. He held influence in ever nation and even further beyond. Even her cousin Trion was threatened by him.   
Cheyenne had made her way deeper into the dank dungeon, to a place she kept secret. Here she kept her armor and weapons, this was her private sanctuary.   
As she cleaned up and dressed herself, her mind kept trying to wrap itself around her current quandary. He had threatened her, but he had done more than that to Valron. _"You're time is limited."_ What had he meant by that?  
She went to her weapons rack and pulled off the most damaging swords she had, equipping one to each hip. Then she spent the next several minutes putting daggers anywhere she could. Two in her garter, a few up her sleeves, one at the small of her back...And she couldn't forget, her real father's dagger...She went to the special box it was kept in and gently removed it. It seemed like so long since the last time she'd held that weapon, but when she slide it into place between her breasts it felt perfect, like it had never been gone.  
Cheyenne looked at herself in the mirror. She was not the same woman who left here and passed through the veil of death. She was more determined, her will set in stone. She wanted a normal life; she wanted to live with the man she loved in happiness. She knew now how precious life was, and she wasn't going to let some arrogant elvaan get in her way.

When she returned to the main hallway, she saw Valron leaning against a wall. She took a moment just to look at him. She really had missed him. He looked so different now. He was thinner, probably hadn't been eating right. His stance was more defensive now. And he had joined the Dragoon Knights. Seeing him in something other then black was a sort of relief. He looked good in this new armor.   
As if sensing someone watching him, Val turned his head to catch Chey glancing him over. He watched as a smile slowly spread across her face a sheer moment before she began running down the hall and launching herself into his arms. He caught her with ease, his arms encircling her torso as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Their lips meeting in an earth-shattering kiss. "I missed you"s and "I love you"s punctuated each breath they took as their mouths met over and over again.   
When at last he released his possessive grip on her, she staggered a bit on her feet, lightheaded from their moment of instant passion.   
Cheyenne leaned into him, her head resting on his broad shoulder, "I'm so sorry. I just...I..."  
Val turned his head and cut off her words by gently nipping at her pouty lower lip. "I know, I understand...I've finally got you back, flesh and blood. I will not let anyone separate us again."   
They stood there for a long time just holding each other. Embraced in their love. Her face nuzzled into the curve of his neck, breathing in deeply his musky scent. His chin rested atop her head, reveling in the silky feel of her hair as his fingers slid through it over and over again.

They were where they belonged. It was heaven. It seemed perfect...It was too good to be true.  
Novalmauge cleared his throat, catching the lovebirds attention. "You seem dressed for war, little red."  
"Is there a war to be had?" Chey had turned her back to Valron, but leaned against him, his arms still wrapped around her.  
The older man nodded, "One of my agents spied Mavanos entering the Maw in East Ronfaure."  
She eyed him quizzically, "Maw...?"  
"Ah yes, my dear. You were not here." Noval glanced up at Val and he took over the explanation.  
"Several months back, these cavernous _'things'_ had begun to appear throughout the world. With some examination and exploration it was found that these 'Maws' are portals to the past...To the time of the Crystal War."   
She tilted her head back and looked up at him, she wasn't quite certain Val was telling her the truth but looking at his somber face, she knew it was true and a new sense of dread clenched her already aching heart.  
 _"You're time is limited."_ Echoed continuously in her mind and realization finally dawned...


	4. The Regression

"I'm supposed to go through that thing?" The woman who had faced nearly every natural and unnatural creature in this world looked upon the maw with a shade of fear coloring her eyes.  
Valron chuckled at her discomfort. He never thought he'd live to see the day she wouldn't charge into a battle...It was kind of cute how she nibbled her lower lip with worry. For once he could be the stronger one in the relationship.  
"Aww, is the itty, bitty kitty scared?" His teasing earned him a hard smack upside the head.

The couple stood alone in front of the massive maw. Chey took a deep breath as Val's hand encircled hers. The energy pulsing from this structure was intense, more so then anything she had ever felt before. That alone would scare her, but damn if the thing didn't just look damned freaky. Taking a step closer, they could feel it starting to pull them in.   
Valron squeezed her hand tight and yelled over the maw's primitive roar, "I'll meet you on the other side!"

She was floating through the abyss, purple mist enveloping her, a faint voice in the distance. She felt warm, surrounded by the vibration of magic, like she was a baby nestled in the womb.  
Then suddenly Chey crashed into harsh reality. She landed on her back, sprawled on the ground, screaming out in pain.  
She sat up and clutched her lower back, looking up she saw Val standing not far away, "How the hell did you land on your feet?"  
He just shrugged, "Practice, I've done it before..."  
"Oh screw you..." She winced, "Help me up will you."

It had been decided that the best chance they had was to head to Bastok. They knew Valron was the target, they just didn't know how it would happen.   
Even Val's own memory wasn't going to help him. All he knew, all anyone in the entire Republic knew, was that he was found wandering the streets as a young child. But right now, the only option they had was to find the child and stick close to him. If Mavanos was going to actually strike out at the boy, they could stop him.   
Yet, Chey felt the Viscount wasn't going to be that easy to capture.

"What good is this going to do us?" Cheyenne ran her fingers through her hair and huffed in frustration.   
She was pacing up and down Gold Street as Val just leaned against a building and watched her. The boy was going to be found wandering around the mining area, but they were being denied access. She had wanted to slam her fist into the face of the smug Galkan guard, she wanted to demand entrance, but she knew she couldn't. In this time she was no one. No one knew her, know one was scared of her and it was the same with Valron. In the future he wouldn't be able to take a single step without someone recognizing him, but now no one batted an eye lash as they passed.  
"Think of it this way, if we can't get passed, maybe he can't either." Val was trying to be positive...It just seemed to irritate her more.  
Chey raised her eyebrow and just stared at him like he had grown a few more heads. "Mavanos would find a way."

"This is ridiculous..." She had been pacing for over an hour now, racking her brain for a way to get in the mines and Val's calming demeanor was really just starting to piss her off.  
"We just have to wait it out, He can't do anything until the boy...I mean, I come into Bastok. He can't have more information then we do." As he saw her walking passed him again, he reached out and pulled her into his arms. He laid a soft kiss on her lips and was awarded by her smile.  
"You're always so sure things will be fine..." She sighed as she looked up into his eyes.  
"Only when I have you by my side."   
She laughed and shook her head, "You're full of it."  
He smiled back at her and squeezed her tight, he was just glad to have her.

Suddenly all the color drained from Chey's face and she pushed away from him. Her eyes squinted against the blazing sunlight looking towards the outer wall of the city.   
"What is it?" Val tried looking in the same direction, but could not see anything.  
"I...I..." She tilted her head and looked back at him quizzically. "I thought I saw my mother...Climbing the wall out of the city...." She shook her head. "But, nah...It couldn't have been her...Could it...?"  
Val opened his mouth to say something but words never found air as an explosion shook the ground.   
They both turned towards the dust cloud coming from the entrance to the mines area as they heard someone yelling, "Help! Hurry! There's been a cave in!!!"


	5. The Regret

This was the opportunity they had needed. Chey and Val rushed into the mines along with several guards and other adventurers. Everyone quickly began shifting rocks and rubble to gain access into the lower tunnels.  
The couple was keeping their ears open to hear any tidbit of conversation. "Refugees from the desert...Trapped...Soldiers and merchants...Families..."  
Chey's ears twitched and she looked at Valron, they both came to the same conclusion. His parents, the boy he was, were trapped. Val picked up speed, adrenaline coursing through his veins as he tried in desperation to dig deeper.  
She worked right beside him, the lines of determination were drawn tight to his face, his brow glistening with sweat. She had seen him like this before, it was his battle face...He was struggling internally, he was going to have a choice to make and they were both afraid of it.

The ground rumbled beneath their feet as soldiers and adventurers continued struggling to move rocks and dirt.  
"We found an air pocket, we need someone small to go through!" A galkan guard shouted up the tunnel.  
Everyone began sizing up their neighbors, but the area was full of nothing more then galkans and humes...  
Valron looked at her, "You have to do it."  
"No, I can't..." Cheyenne shook her head regretfully.  
"How can you say that? You can, you have to!" His voice rose with a hint of panic.  
"You made it out when you were a child. We have to let the natural course happen." Her head tilted up to look into his eyes, the doubt and hurt she saw pained her deep into her soul.  
"But my family. I have a chance...You have to help me...Please baby..." His hands glided up her arms, he was begging her...He never begged.   
A solitary tear slid down her cheek as she gazed up at him, "I'm sorry...They were destined to die..."  
She saw the rage build up in him, she felt his hands tightening around her biceps. "No! I will not stand by and do nothing!" Val breathed through gritted teeth and shoved her away from him then turned to make his way towards the opening in the rock.

Cheyenne hit the dirt with a thud, her body tense from the exchange. She sat there, watching his back and sighed dejectedly. She knew there would be no stopping him, she and Noval knew it was a chance they'd have to take in deciding for Val to come.   
The ground shook with fury, dirt showering down from the ceiling...Looked like fate might make the decision before he'd have a chance.   
She placed her palms back against the wall for leverage and began to push herself up on her feet. She slipped slightly and her hand slid down the packed earth, her finger hitting something sharp and her flesh slicing open.   
"sssss....fuck..." Chey brought the cut to her lips, tasting the coppery sweetness of her own lifeblood as her eyes searched for the offending object.  
There, hiding in the dark clay was a shining object...Quickly she scraped away around it, pulling the curious object out. Her eyes widened, she knew what this was...It was a bomb, or what was left of one. It was a unique devise. Something she had seen made many times...By Novalmauge...  
The ugly truth slammed into her hard. It _had_ been her mother climbing over the wall...San d'Oria had been behind this "accident", the reason Valron's parents had died. "Holy Sh......."

A massive tremble came from above, cutting off her thoughts. The whole place was going to come down on top of them all if they didn't hurry. She looked around to see everyone, mighty Bastok guardians and adventurers alike scrambling to get out. But then there was Valron and one lone galka at the small opening, hoping for a miracle.   
Chey ran up behind him, wrapping her slender arms around his bulky waist and pulling with all her weight. "We have to go, now! Before we die here too..."  
"I don't care! I'm not leaving...That's my family in there!" He was now struggling against her and the rocks.  
Her fist met the middle of his back, her knuckles bleeding on impact with his armor. "Damnit! Don't you see! You already have a family...You have me and Savanah! You do this and you may lose us!" She was screaming, not just out of emotion but to be heard over the rumbling as the earth fell around them.   
Val hesitated, his head turning to look at her. The lines on his face softened as he took in the dirt-smudged face of the woman he loved. He simply nodded and scooped her up into his arms, hurrying for the entrance.

A cloud of dust filled the entrance as a crowd of people stood around to watch.   
Val had collapsed on the ground with exhaustion, Chey was curled on his lap, his arms encircling her as his tears fell in her hair. She could think of no words, there was nothing she could say. Guilt was ripping her apart, she couldn't believe, she didn't want to believe. How could her mother, her kingdom do this...  
She had hidden the evidence in her satchel, she'd find out the truth once they returned home. But until then, she wasn't going to breathe a word of it, especially to Val.

Over the sound of the collapsing earth a scream could be heard, a woman's voice echoing through the heavy air..."My baby!...Val...Valron!..."  
Then suddenly there was silence, the calm of death engulfed everyone in the area. Val and Chey held their breath...  
Through the dust came the lone galka that had stayed behind, carrying in his arms a small, blond headed boy who could have been no more then a few years old.  
Chey's hand flew to her mouth as she cried out in relief, tears flooding her eyes. She felt the tension slide from Valron's body. He was safe, the boy had made it...


	6. The Recovery

Valron and Cheyenne kept their distance under the veil of an invisible spell, but stayed close enough to monitor the progress of the young boy. They played shadow guardians for the child as they watched the Bastokans adopt the newly orphaned child. It was nearly two days before he woke from his slumber.   
Chey couldn't imagine what he had suffered and now to wake without an ounce of memory. Her gaze kept wandering to the man standing next to her, the man that little boy would become. What would it be like to one day not know who you are, to not remember your family...To not even know what your mother looked like...   
The woman's scream was haunting Chey's dreams. Hearing Val's mother die with his name on her lips, it was crushing her heart. Growing up she knew of difficult missions, hell she herself had done some horrible things...But to take the lives of innocents, people who were only seeking a safe haven from the war...That was truly heartless.   
The weight of her mother’s sins was now weighing heavy on Chey's soul. Her mother would never be able to answer for them, but damnit all to hell, someone was going to.

Valron had touched her on the shoulder, breaking her out of her reverie, "I'll be back, going to get us some food."  
She nodded at him and turned up her face for his soft kiss to land on her cheek. After he left she curled up in the corner of the room and hugged her legs, resting her chin on her knees as she watched the child. Everyone had vacated the room while he had still been sleeping. Now he was up and playing with carved wooden toys. She couldn't help but think about what he was going to face, all the struggling, all the battles, all the pain...  
She never even noticed when the tears started freely flowing or how her magic had faded until the small boy walked up to her on wobbly legs and touched his tiny hand to her wet cheek, "Why cry, pretty kitty?"  
Chey couldn't help but smile through her tears, "For you, sweeting." She hesitated a moment before reaching out to run her fingers through his soft hair.  
He frowned at her, "I sowwy...No cry for me."  
She stood and lifted him into her arms and carried him back to bed, "Happy tears, I promise..." She pulled the blankets up around him and softly sang to him as she began casting a sleep spell, "Now sleep..." His eyes slowly fluttered shut, "my love..."

Cheyenne stood outside the small cottage, watching the citizens slowly retreat indoors for the night. The sun was setting on the horizon and across the street she could see Valron walking back towards her. He looked so masculine in his dragoon armor, it was a change from his dark demeanor but a change she was becoming accustomed to. And now he looked almost at peace, he had come to terms with what had happened, he had known deep inside there was nothing either of them could have done. But she knew it had still been hard for him to be there and be completely helpless. She was dreading how he'd react to the real truth.  
He was only half way across the street when he started talking to her, "I know you hate meat pies but its all they had and you......"  
His words were cut off as she flung herself at him and kissed him with all the passion in her heart.  
When she finally let him take a breath he grinned down at her, "I should buy you food you hate more often."  
She simply laughed and kissed him again, "I love you so very much...Never forget that...Please..."  
He pulled her closer, cradling her tightly against him, "Never, ever." He softly rubbed his nose against hers before kissing her again.

"Well isn't this just a pretty picture..." A deep voice floated down from above.  
The couple looked up to the roof of the cottage...  
"Mavanos!" Val pushed Chey's smaller body behind his as he looked up at the menacing elvaan crouched on the thatched roof.  
"Ready to die, peasant?" Mavanos licked his lips and stood.  
"You should be asking yourself that question you bastard." Valron pulled his polearm with a flourish.  
A wicked laugh slowly built up in the elvaan's throat. "You can try, and you _will_ fail..." He jumped down to the pavement, standing tall before the couple, "But first you'll have to catch me..." A dark portal appeared behind him as he began to back into it.  
Valron began running towards Mavanos shouting back, "You guard the boy, I'm going after him!"  
Chey tried to reach out for him, but her fingers fell short of his armor and she screamed, "Val! No!"  
But it was too late, both men had disappeared into the black hole and she was left standing alone in the middle of the street.


	7. Return Once More

Cheyenne paced restlessly back and forth across the small room the boy lived in. She had renewed his sleep spell so that he wouldn't see her. He was snoozing peacefully as she began wearing a hole in the thread-bare rug.  
 _Watch the boy...Watch the boy...How can I be alert when I'm worried about Val...  
Oh hell, why stay to watch the boy when Val is chasing the only threat to him?!?_  
Damnit, damnit, damnit...Val had used her maternal instincts against her so he could face Mavanos alone...  
Chey went flying out the door as fast as her feet could carry her.

The plan had always been to pass back through the Ronfaure maw, where guards would be waiting to take the Viscount into custody in the future. So she figured her best bet was to make it back to Ronfaure, not exactly a promising journey to be making by herself in this day and age.  
She could only send a prayer to the Goddess that Valron would be safe.

Cheyenne had finally made her way to Jugner where she came across a camp of Bastokan soldiers. As she was sneaking passed them she overheard some chatter.  
"I saw them with my own eyes, that guy was beating the shit out of that damned elvaan..."  
"If they keep it up they are gonna knock down half the forest..."  
"Did you hear that elvaan was behind the bombing in the mines?"  
She couldn't have possibly heard what she just did...Bombing...No one in the future knew that it had been a bombing. The history books wrote it off as an accidental cave in.  
Something was wrong...History was changing.

 _This isn't right...This really isn't right..._  
Her heart began pounding in her ears and a sick feeling was building in the pit of her stomach. With a new adrenaline rush, she ran as quickly as she could for the Ronfaure zone.

Cheyenne had finally caught up to them just a few feet from the overshadowing maw. She watched as Valron's polearm swept out, knocking Mavanos' feet from under him. Val threw his polearm down and knelt on the elvaan's chest, letting his fists do the work now.  
The hate and anger on his face had carved his features into stone. Clenched fists slammed repeatedly into the other man's face over and over again coating skin in bright red blood.  
She was screaming at the top of her lungs, but Val never heard her over the roaring in his ears.  
Valron rose to his feet and pulled Mavanos onto his knees, dragging the elvaan towards the maw by his torn and tattered armor.  
Chey's mind was working overtime, trying to process everything she was seeing. Mavanos wasn't fighting back, he was actually grinning.  
 _Fuck! Something is horribly wrong._  
"Val! No! Stop!" She screamed running towards them. But he wasn't hearing her, his concentration was on his enemy, he was blinded to everything else.  
She needed to reach him, she needed to stop him...Fuck...Fuck...Fuck...  
"Valron!!!!!! Nooooooooo!!!!!!"  
She continued running, watching as He lifted the Viscount up and threw him forcefully into the gaping maw.  
It felt as if she had run into an invisible brick wall, she couldn't move, she couldn't breath...Her voice was soundless even to herself.  
Chey stood there in shock as Val turned to her and smiled, she couldn't hear him but his lips moved... _I love you._  
Then right before her eyes she watched as he was suddenly sucked up into the void. He was gone.

She stood before the maw, staring up at it. It had pulled him in as he stood, no warning, no nothing...That sick feeling was growing stronger, she felt like heaving. Something wasn't right, she was scared.  
With a resigned sigh, Chey moved towards the maw. Closer and closer but still no response from the strange creature. She decided to climb up, and as she reached the edge the whole structure began to tremble causing her to fall into the blackened void.

 _Geez, again my tailbone._ With a groan Chey laid her palms flat on the ground to push herself up, but something caused her to pause. She looked down... _Flowers? Since when did flowers grow abundant in this area?_  
Shaking her head she pushed herself up and looked around. She couldn't see anyone. But not two steps later a young elvaan girl, no older then Savanah, bounded at her.  
"Oh, my lady! There you are! I'm so glad you're okay!" The excited girl kinda struck the wrong nerve with Chey, she didn't know who she was.  
"Where is Valron?" Cheyenne was really confused, she was stressed, and she was getting pissed...So she did what she normally did in these situations, she grabbed the girl by the arms.  
"Ow, my lady, you're hurting me..." The girl struggled in her grip.  
"Where's Valron?!" Chey began shaking her.  
"I...I don't know who...that is..." The girl was near tears.  
"Valron...My husband!" She damned near screamed it at the girl.  
The poor elvaan girl looked confused, "My lady, your husband is right there."  
Chey watched the direction of her eyes...She pushed the girl away from her as she saw who was standing there...  
"Mavanos..." his name was no more then a whisper from her lips.  
"Hello my sweet." His grin spread wide and wicked across his face.  
"You son of a BITCH! What have you done?!?" She threw her small body at him, her claws scratching at his face.  
With little effort he flipped her over onto her back and pinned her body under his, "Now, now...Behave."  
She was struggling, her body flailing, obscenities flowing freely from her mouth.  
Chey never saw the approaching knights, as Mavanos pulled her up to her feet and held her tightly.  
"Come, clamp the princess in irons and take her back to the Chateau. Lock her in our chambers until she calms." The bastard stayed perfectly calm, and the knights obeyed his every order.  
 _This is not right....THIS IS NOT RIGHT!!!_ was all that echoed in her mind over and over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"You know that moment in the dead of night, surrounded by shadows, when your breath catches, when your heart pounds and your sweet blood courses heavy through your veins? In that stitch of time is when it’s me you fantasize of, when you want me, need me...love me."_


End file.
